Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-05-12
TOBACCO CULTURE.
Bill NYe Contributes His Mite to . Burning
Question of the Day.

TOBACCO CULTURE.
Bill NYe Contributes His Mite to . Burning
Question of the Day.
AsHEvILLE, N. C.-No doubt some of
the finest favored smoking tobacco in
the world is grown in this region and
manufactured in this State. Il is a
bright and beautiful golden color. as
thin as tissue paper. and smells well
while feeding itself to the devouring
element.
Tobacco has been known to our race
for about four centuries, and during
that time it has made wonderful
strides.
1t is a sad thing to think of the sui
fering that existed throughout the
length and breadth of the land before
tobacco was discovered.
Toba eco Is grown upon the rich, red
hillsides Of North Carolina and Vir-
ginia by means of agriculture. The
Venetian-red soil of the South has to
be fertilized before it will produce
much tobacco. The best fertilizer is the
handiwork of Signor Guano, of Peru,
whose works are very popular in the
South.
The soil is then tickled with the hoe,
and African humorists who can amuse
plantation in this way readily COM
mand salary of about seven dollars
per month.
Fertilizing is quite expensive, and it
requires good crop to get even on the
years expenditures for labor, fertiliz-
ers, etc. One man I heard of the other
day sold his crop two weeks ago, and
still lacked 81 IS of having enough to
pay off Mr.. Guano.
Such things as these do much to dis
courage the use of agriculture as a
means of relaxation in the South.
Tobacco is a strong, growing, her
baceous, fuzzy annual, rising frequent
ly to a height of six feet unless previ-
ously topped The only ornament
worn by the adult tobacco plant is a
large, thick-set worm, which may be
secured by Embedding him between the
leaves of Mr.. Webster's verbose die
tionary and then deity closing the vol
ume.
On opening the book years after
ward the still features of the worm may
still be detected.
Tobacco is not sold at the South by
the producer at a regular price per
pound, but he hauls it into the ware
house, and when there is a break, or
sale, his tobacco is sold at auction.
though sometimes it is bought at pri-
vate sale.
The pinhooker is peculiar feature
eff the private sale business. Pin
hookers work in threes. Pinhooker A
goes to the horny-handed producer and
says: Il will give you $50 for your
lot; tobacco is falling little to-day,
and I will not hold that offer good more
than an hour" The producer refuses
to accept the offer.
Pretty soon Pinhooker B comes up
to him and says: "rll offer you $6S
for your lot if you give me reply
soon. What do you say?"
The planter gets little scared over
the falling market, but refuses to sell.
Then G comes in and offers $50 if ac-
copied promptly, and the now thor
oughly frightened toiler rushes around
to find A and accept his offer. But A
says it is too late-the market is too
shaky. He then4 scours the premises
for B, who reluctantly takes the goods
at about $15 less than they are worth.
This is another reason why the
domain of agriculture at the South is
now rarely invaded by the white man.
Tobacco is used in the preparation
Of snuff, fine-cut tobacco and plug to-
bacco. 1t is frequently used also to
flavor cigars, and sometimes in the bet
ter grade of cigarettes.
The exports of tobacco from 1850 to
1875 increased from Sc. 427, 251 in value
to 1928. SAT, 1862. Ten years ago the in
ternal revenue from tobacco was near
ly 40,O0O 600.
For years it has been favorite
amusement on the part of the United
States to jerk few millions of revenue
now and then out of the poor tobacco
agriculturist and sock the amount into
the various avenues where the great
sausage grinder of government need
ed more means.
That is the reason why so many
nickel cigars are being sacrificed at the
rate of two for quarter.
Other information regarding the
great tobacco industry is liable to fol
low close upon the heels of this treatise.
Bill Nae, in Boston Globe.